Fate
by Trayriffic
Summary: Alice is in a great relationship. Jasper is engaged. When they meet for the first time they knew their lives and hearts were never going to be the same. Not your typical Jasper-Alice love story. One-Shot, All human


**A/N: So this is a one-shot I've had in my head for a while... sort of like a "what-if" scenario of what would happen if Alice and Jasper met under very not-single circumstances. All human.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is owned by someone other than me and I make no claim to it.**

Oh good grief my head hurt. How hung over could one person be? My brain felt like it could explode at any given moment and this waitress seemed to think that I'd be able to order on my own. In truth I might have been still drunk. I finally ordered a big breakfast platter and it seemed to satisfy the impatient server.

I sat in my booth alone, and grateful for it. It had been a really long night. So long in fact that it was currently morning. The clock on the wall said it was past ten. I had left Bella's apartment only after promising that I'd check in the next night. Bella was in the midst of what could be called heartache. Her high school sweetheart Edward had broken up with her just last week and in retaliation she had decided that a weekend of clubbing seemed to be the perfect therapy. I did not agree.

The club scene wasn't mine. I was more of a homebody. I had a boyfriend, and I had not been dumped. He was a fine specimen of a boyfriend too. His name was Peter. Sweetest guy I'd ever met and he was spectacularly good to me. We had met in college. He had been one of the few men with whom I'd ever had good conversation consistently. The only thing clubbing ever did for me was annoy me with sweaty horny men breathing all over me. It wasn't pretty. I had agreed to meet Bella in New York because I'm a great friend. That's what friends do. She would owe me in a major way when this little fit was over.

I had gone to Bella's after the club and had slept for a handful of hours and then headed back to my hotel room to regroup. En route I had spotted this cute little diner that represented all that is great about New York. Seemed like the perfect place to rehydrate and nourish myself. I had a feeling I would need it considering that tonight looked to be a repeat of the torture that Bella claimed was fun for single girls. Good grief. What had I gotten myself into?

I heard the door chime open suddenly and by habit or perhaps by pure animal instinct my eyes looked up in reaction. The man who walked in was beyond the normal scope of manhood. It was like as he entered the entire world stood still. I heard my own heartbeat, and it almost stopped altogether.

His hair was a bit long and messy. It wasn't dirty or anything, but the kind of hair that you hoped your man would have after lying on your pillow all night long. I wanted to touch it. Every ounce of my being wanted to walk up to him and run my fingers through the tangled layers on his head. Just thinking about it made me purr quietly. I was trying to snap out of this fantasy when I realized that I had caught his attention.

He was walking toward my booth and in the crowded diner any stranger would have thought he was searching me out. My throat almost closed off in nervous anticipation and for a split second I hoped he wouldn't speak to me because I wouldn't be able to utter a response. That passed quickly though and I found myself breathlessly waiting for even a mere hello. I was more than pleasantly surprised when he paused by my booth.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" His voice was so deep and masculine, even more so than I'd imagined.

"I'm sorry what?" I doubt if I could have been any less articulate.

"I... It's just that there isn't a booth open and if you were dining alone in this big booth I was thinking we could share a table." He posed it as a statement that time but his voice revealed nothing but insecurity and questioning.

"Sure, that seat is free." I'm not sure if he could hear the fear in my voice or not but if he could then he didn't reveal it. "I'm Alice."

Just then the waitress brought my food and I just sat and stared at him as she took his order. His jaw line was defined and I just wanted to trace it with my finger. His cheekbones were obvious and his dark locks fell down and brushed against them a bit from the windy weather that had pushed him through the door just moments before. What was even more imposing though were his eyes. They were a piercing shade of green and they never seemed to stray away from my gaze even as he spoke to the waitress. He looked at me. Before I knew it she had walked away and we were left so very alone in a very public place.

"My name is Jasper." His hand reached across the table. "It's nice to meet you Alice."

I took his hand and shook it. Just the simple touch was enough to send chills down my spine in the best way. I pulled back reluctantly.

"Are you from the city?" It was the only thing I could think of to ask besides offering to birth his beautiful babies. He nodded. "Not me. I'm from upstate. I'm just in town visiting a friend."

Suddenly I realized I was the only one talking. It occurred to me that maybe he really just wanted to share a booth, eat breakfast and move on. Maybe he didn't want small talk.

"I'm sorry, I'm just… I guess I'm just a little taken with you Alice. I feel like I've met you before yet I know that I haven't because if I had then I would have remembered."

"I know." It was the only answer that made sense.

When the waitress brought his cup of coffee I handed him the creamer and shuddered as his fingers scraped mine. They were just electrifying.

"I'm engaged. Not that you asked, but I want you to know. I plan on marrying a girl named Charlotte. She's amazing." The words spilled from his full lips, almost involuntarily.

"I have a boyfriend. His name is Peter. I love him. He's my best friend. He's not in the city with me." I offered it, almost as if I was trying to comfort him. But why? All we had done was introduce ourselves.

"Alice are you going to eat?" He pointed to my still full plate. "Your food is getting cold."

I took a deep breath. "I don't know if I'm hungry now."

"I think you should." His eyes showed concern and turmoil.

I nodded and obliged him. I chewed carefully but could barely take my eyes off him. He was stunning. There was a little indent on his chin that completed his whole face. "Is that better?" I spoke in a light hearted tone but it was wasted. I could tell that I wasn't the only one feeling the tension in the air.

He smiled in spite of it and I could have sworn that the whole diner brightened when he did.

"Alice tell me about yourself." He requested as the waitress delivered his food. I talked and he listened. I told him about college, about meeting Peter, about Bella and her heart breaking relationship. I told him about our experience at the clubs last night.

"It's your turn… tell me about yourself now." I mumbled, so shyly that I was shocked to hear my own voice.

It turns out he was on his way out of town in a couple days, headed to Chicago to be with Charlotte. She was ill and there was a center there that offered a cutting edge experimental treatment. She sounded beautiful and I could tell that he really did love her.

My phone rang and interrupted him. I ignored it without even looking at it.

We kept talking. There was nothing normal about the conversation. I felt as if I had just sat down to breakfast with a friend that I had known my entire life. Before I knew it hours had passed. We had shared things that would never have been told to a stranger. But we weren't strangers. We were us.

My phone rang again. This time I glanced at the screen and saw Bella's name. So did Jasper.

"Alice…" There was urgency to his tone. "I don't know what to say to make this work. I don't want to seduce you or ask you to be unfaithful. I don't want to be unfaithful myself. I do want to spend more time with you though. Is there any way at all that we could spend the day together? We don't have long, but we do have this afternoon. Would you consider it?" His breath hitched and those emerald green eyes searched mine for answers.

"I will. I can't see another choice." I picked up the phone and dialed Bella back. Without any hesitation I told her that something came up and that I'd call her that night.

A smile spread across Jasper's face as he stood up. His hand reached for mine and I slid mine into it. We walked out of the diner. I didn't have a plan at all and at first he didn't either. Suddenly I saw a glimmer in his eyes. "Can we go to the park?"

"If I can change my clothes first?" He laughed as he remembered that I was wearing clothes suitable for late night dancing, not afternoon walking.

We walked the block to my hotel and as we stepped onto the elevator I started to get nervous. Every inch of my body tingled at the thought of being in a room with a bed with him. Peter seemed like a distant memory and however unfair that was, my relationship was not on my mind at all. Although for what it was worth, I did recognize that Jasper didn't want to be unfaithful either and it kept me somewhat grounded in my thoughts.

I led him to my room I realized how normal this must appear. We were just any other couple in the city. Only we weren't a couple. We were barely more than strangers yet we were so much more than a couple at the same time.

Once inside the room, Jasper took one of the chairs by the window and busied himself flipping through one of the brochures lying on the table. I grabbed jeans, a tunic top and new undergarments from my suitcase and headed for the bathroom for a shower.

The water was so hot that it steamed up the bathroom in no time. I practically scalded myself as I let it run down over my body, knowing the whole time that he was just outside the door. I silently wished that he would just walk in and help himself to me. Nobody would ever know… but he would know and he was too good for that. I could tell. I never would be able to explain it to Peter either.

Peter. The thought of hurting him was awful. I did love him. I cared so much for him. But Peter had never looked into my eyes and caused the reaction that Jasper did. It was like Jasper just made my insides turn to mush.

I dried off and got dressed. Make up was clean and simple. There didn't seem to be a need for anything more than that. I dried my hair a little and styled it so that it was purposefully messy, without so much mousse that it would be crunchy. I smelled and looked much fresher when I emerged from the bathroom.

Jasper was standing at the window looking out at the city. I went to him, wondering what was on his mind and hoping that he hadn't changed his mind about spending the day with me.

"Hey?" was all I could utter out of pure fear of cancellation.

He turned towards me and smiled so brightly. "Hey yourself. You look radiant. I mean it Alice you're breathtaking." He paused and his fingers stroked my neck, wrapping their way around the back of my neck up into my hair. "I hope I'm not making you uncomfortable. I just know that we have a short amount of time together and I'd hate to waste it by not being honest. You are beautiful."

He was saying so much and yet his eyes seemed to be screaming even more. My hand moved in a seemingly involuntary fashion and before I knew it I was snaking my fingers through those messy brown locks of hair that were begging for attention.

"I know we aren't going to have sex, and I understand why we can't. Would it be too much to ask if just stayed here together for the afternoon though?" I heard my own voice and my brain wanted to call myself stupid. _Oh but how good the sex might be!_

He nodded and pulled me to him. It didn't seem like it could possibly be wrong for us to be together like this and I didn't even focus on it at all. We stood there for a while, just enveloped in each other's arms. Eventually though we drifted to the bed and stretched out across it. There was a blanket folded up across the bench at the foot of the bed and he reached for it when I started to shiver a bit but I wasn't cold. The shiver came from the electrical current that seemed to travel back and forth between our bodies at every touch.

We talked for hours. His fingers traced every inch of my hands and arms. He rubbed circles and patterns on my back as I lay across his chest. I learned so much about him. I had to make a constant effort to keep my hands in more neutral areas of his body. It was not an easy task.

I asked him about his childhood and he told me about the town he grew up in. As he talked he was inhaling and exhaling so close to neck that I could feel his breath and the entire lower half of my body was warm in a hormonal drunkenness.

The blood rushed to my skin as he brought his lips up to my cheek at one point in a chaste kiss. I had been talking about the death of my mother. I knew that my sadness had moved him and I tried not to get too excited but I couldn't imagine that the racing of my heart wasn't visible to him.

With every minute that ticked away we were closer to losing each other and the inevitable moment eventually arrived.

We were tangled up in what would appear to be a long-time lovers' embrace when he ran a finger along my jawbone and said "Alice my plane leaves soon."

"How soon?" was the only thing I could bring myself to ask.

"I have to be there in an hour." His voice was strained. "Alice?"

"Yes?"

"I don't know how to explain this, what this is between us."

I drew in a sharp breath. I knew how to explain it. It was love.

"Neither do I." Lying seemed the less painful option.

"I've never felt anything like it and it makes me wish that circumstances were different." His deep, raspy whispers were full of emotion. "But since they aren't I should go now."

We unwrapped each other and I immediately felt his absence.

Standing, I looked into his eyes trying so hard to remember that moment and exactly what we had experienced. It was something I never wanted to forget.

Hand in hand we walked to the door together. He turned to me and took a deep breath.

"I will never forget you Alice. I think you've taken a piece of me and I'll never be the same." I melted into his chest. It wasn't normal to feel such physical and emotional reactions from a simple hug but I did and I could tell he did too. He pulled back a little and searched my eyes for a split second. When he saw the quiet sob that was about to escape he tried to wipe a tear from my eyes but it escaped before his hand reached it. His own eyes were wet with tenderness as he wrapped the same hand around the back of my head and pulled my mouth to his.

His lips were so full and forceful but still gentle. The kiss lasted for several seconds but it could have never been long enough. Through my closed eyelids I could see us holding hands, growing old together. I could see children and lovemaking, crying and laughter. I saw us and it felt like home. Then it was over.

He pulled away and slowly his hands left me. I felt my body instantly start to ache as he reached for the door.

As he walked down the hall I called after him. "Wait! You don't know my last name!"

He turned slowly. "I can't know it. If I did then I'd find you. I'd never be able to lose you. It has to be this way. I have to be there for Charlotte. She's going to leave me too soon as it is. She'll die soon and I want to be there for her. If we're meant to be then fate will bring you and I together. It brought us together today and I don't doubt it. Goodbye for now Alice."

The elevator opened and he was gone. The only thing left to do was cry. I curled up on the lonely bed that just moments before had been the home of more warmth and love than I could have ever imagined.

My phone rang and I answered it for the first time in hours. When I heard Peter's voice I couldn't help but smile. It was familiar. I just wondered if it would ever feel like home to me.

**A/N: Whew! Well that was heartache and a half. I know that it's not the typical Jasper/Alice love story but I wanted to try something different. I think a lot of us have a person who might not ever be "the one" but will always be the "what if" one... and Jasper and Alice hold that kind of passion. It's a chemistry that's undeniable. **

**Please review?**


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